XEN kin held with gold, opium
Bathinda, September 1
Bathinda police today arrested the distant relative of a suspended XEN of the PWD (B&R) deployed in Mansa and recovered one kilogram opium, over 4 kg of gold biscuit besides, Rs 21.93 lakh in cash and jewellery from his house in Jhuttika Mohalla.

Bins to collect refuse go waste
Bathinda, September 1
The bins distributed as a part of coveted garbage collection project, launched by the Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on December 9 last year, have become redundant.

Body of newborn boy found
Bathinda, September 1
The body of a newborn male child was found near Purana Thana here today.
Volunteers of the Sahara Jan Sewa, a local NGO, who reached the place, brought the matter to the notice of the police. The volunteers said the child seemed to be born few hours ago and somebody abandoned the body. The police said a case in this connection would be registered.

Teachers’ day celebration
Bathinda to host state-level function
Bathinda, September 1
The state level Teachers' Day celebrations would be held at Bathinda. Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka will be holding the function in his home constituency. Last year, his predecessor Sewa Singh Sekhwan had held the state-level celebrations in his constituency, at Kahnuwan in Gurdaspur district.

Tiny-tots at DPS enthral audience
Bathinda, September 1
A colourful function was organised at the junior wing of the Delhi Public School today. The principal of the Bachpan playschool, Palak Juare, was the special guest on the occasion.

Bathinda, September 1
Bathinda police today arrested the distant relative of a suspended XEN of the PWD (B&R) deployed in Mansa and recovered one kilogram opium, over 4 kg of gold biscuit besides, Rs 21.93 lakh in cash and jewellery from his house in Jhuttika Mohalla.

Senior police functionaries including IG Nirmal Singh Dhillon, SSP Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill, ASP Kuldeep Chahal, DSP Gurmeet Singh and inspector Gurjeet Singh Romana besides a large number of policemen reached the house to enquire into the case. The house was searched in the presence of the executive magistrate Kamaldeep Singh.

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Bathinda Zone, Nirmal Singh Dhillon told TNS that the main accused, Gurjeet Singh Sandhu, was not present in the house and his son, 26-year-old Bhupinder Singh, who had returned from Australia, was arrested by the police.

Gurjeet was later arrested by a team of policemen and questioned about the incriminating and unaccounted for material kept in the house. The arrested father-son duo informed the police that the gold and cash in the house belonged to the suspended XEN who has already been arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in connection with the scam.

Bhupinder, whose education qualification is Plus Two, is unemployed. He had gone to Australia in 2008 but returned next year and got married. His father is a former liquor contractor and has been booked thrice by the police so far, including in today's case, the IG said.

Inspector Gurjeet Singh Romana said the police registered a case under sections 61, 1, 14 of the Excise Act against Gurjeet on December 13 at the Kowali police station. A case was also registered against him under sections 307, 447 and 148 of the IPC and the Arms Act on December 19, 2001. A case under sections 18, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act was registered against him at the Kotwali police station today.

The IG said the search of the accused's house is on and it will continue till late at night. He said during the preliminary questioning, the accused admitted that the money and gold biscuits belonged to the suspended XEN and another Rs 15 lakh of the XEN is deposited in a bank account which too would be confiscated.

Dhillon further said the other contacts of the accused too have been searched and more arrests are likely to be made.

The XEN is accused of using fake signatures to withdraw money from the treasury and the department's account for non-existent works.

The vigilance inquiries revealed that the XEN had diverted and misused funds using forged signatures for the repair of school buildings which was never done.

A senior vigilance officer in Jalandhar had completed the inquiry and submitted it to the Vigilance headquarters at Chandigarh after which a case was registered against the XEN. He was arrested by the Bureau last month.

Sources in the PWD (B&R) department revealed that the Vigilance Bureau completed the enquiry despite pressure by an influential SAD leader. The sources said Joginder had written a fake letter to himself from the Mohali office of the department wherein it was stated that a senior department functionary needed an Innova car. The car was purchased using government funds and was used by the XEN himself.

The car was later reportedly confiscated by the Vigilance officials after the arrest of the suspended XEN. Police said a case in this connection would be registered against the father- son duo under various sections of the IPC at the Kotwali police station.

Special police teams have been formed and raids would be conducted at various places.

Bathinda, September 1
The cash-strapped Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) will spend Rs 5 lakh on hosting the meeting of the All India Council of Mayors scheduled to be held in the city on September 15-16.

The estimate for it was passed on the sly at the finance and contract committee (F&CC) meeting convened on August 9. The estimate of Rs 5 lakh for the conference was not listed as part of the main agenda and was instead moved in as a supplementary agenda at the end of the meeting.

Working on a shoe-string budget, the corporation is listing ways to collect revenue in the form of licence fee and is organizing campaigns to get illegal water and sewerage connections regularized.

The corporation is reaching out to the masses appealing to them to pay their water and sewer bills.

"Spending Rs 5 lakh for an exercise, which is not of any public interest, sounds like profligacy in times of economic crisis," said a senior MC official.

The two-day event will be hosted in Hotel Comfort Inn in which the mayors from all major cities of the country are expected to participate.

"The chief guest at the inaugural ceremony would be Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal," said Mayor Baljit Singh Birbehman. He added that a budget of Rs 5 lakh was passed at the F&CC meeting but the government is yet to give its final approval for it.

Last year, the meeting of the council was held at Jaipur where it was demanded that the local bodies should be empowered with the 74th constitutional amendment all over the country so that mayors get more powers to meet their responsibilities.

At the meeting, various issues related to the mayors and the development they have initiated in their respective cities would be discussed. The MCB officials have been directed to enlist their achievements in the form of a presentation to be shown at the meeting.

Besides, several MCB officials have been assigned different tasks. In addition to holding discussions during the meetings, the visiting mayors are also expected to go for sightseeing around the city. That expense too would be borne by the corporation.

Meanwhile, the Congress leader of the House, councillor Jagroop Singh Gill said the aforesaid agenda will be passed in the House only if people get to benefit from it or if the meeting chalks out an action plan for the city's development. "The Mayor should spend from his own pocket to hold such an event," he said.

Bathinda, September 1
The state government is eyeing the properties of its educational institutions to usher in a new wave of development in the district.

First, it was decided to give the Government Elementary School land at Mall Road to private parties and now, it is the turn of the Government ITI Polytechnic College.

After planning to sell off the Government Elementary School land at Mall Road, for constructing a multi-level parking, 10 acres of the ITI College land at Mansa Road would now be given away for opening a Multi Skill Development Centre (MSDC).

Of the 24.74 acres of land with the ITI, around 10 acres would be given to a German company to set up the MSDC that will impart skills to students in short-term courses tailor-made for the requirements of the industry in Bathinda and its adjoining areas.

Already, the government is receiving flak from the teachers' community for its bid to sell off the government school land to construct a multi-level parking. It is learnt that the documents pertaining to the land have been forwarded to the Punjab government to get its final nod.

"However, as of now, the issue has been kept pending due to some orders of the High Court, disallowing the sale of government land for some time. Moreover, the matter is also to be brought before the Punjab Urban Development Authority's Optimum Utilization of Vacant Government Land (OUVGL) Scheme committee," said Municipal Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta.

Now, the students of the ITI are opposing the opening of the multi skill development centre on their college premises. The land earmarked for the multi skill development centre presently has quarters of the staff members and a vast playground. With the MSDC coming up, alternate arrangements will have to be made for the residence of the staff members.

Though the technical education fraternity has welcomed the setting up of the MSDC, they said that the existing system too needs to be strengthened.

"Multi skill development centre will mean jobs for many. But at the same time, the government has forgotten its own polytechnic and ITI colleges, which are working under constraints. The existing system also needs to be reviewed. It takes a year and a lot of efforts for a machinery to be purchased. The government should simplify these mundane procedures and ensure that students get adequate infrastructure for technical education," said a staff member of the ITI.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the college management, PS Randhawa said the German company will not be sold the government land. Instead, the company would be given land only on lease.

Fact file

The ITI was established in 1962 with a capacity of 64 seats for carpentry, fitter, radio and TV mechanical and English stenography trades. It has a sanctioned strength of 900 seats.

10 acres of the ITI College land at Mansa Road would now be given away for opening a Multi Skill Development
Centre.

Of the 24.74 acres of land with the ITI, around 10 acres would be given to a German company to set up the MSDC that will impart skills to students in short-term courses tailor-made for the industry in Bathinda and its adjoining
areas.

The land for the MSDC presently has quarters of the staff members and a vast playground.

Bathinda, September 1
The bins distributed as a part of coveted garbage collection project, launched by the Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on December 9 last year, have become redundant.

The JITF Waste Management Limited started the garbage collection project in the city nine months ago and distributed blue and green coloured bins with a request to segregate the biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes at the household level itself.

The request, however, failed to evoke any response as there was not even a single report of a "responsible" household segregating the garbage.

"The bins provided have largely been rendered useless. Many people have preferred to use their old bins and used the new bins as pots for plants or some other purposes," said one of the JITF officials requesting anonymity.

The officials said that they could not even point a finger at people for not segregating the garbage at their place. Though people were provided with separate bins for different garbage, the garbage collectors were being given rickshaws with four green bins.

"The staff has not been told to segregate the garbage or collect it in the segregated form. It is the company and the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda, (MCB) that should see into the functional problems of garbage collection," added another official.

Municipal commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta said segregation was not being emphasised upon as the solid waste management plant was caught up in environmental clearances issue.

"Even if the garbage is segregated, it would be dumped at one place thereby defeating the very purpose of segregation," the municipal commissioner said.

However, the XEN of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), Najar Singh Manshahia, said people should inculcate a habit of segregating the garbage from now onwards so that whenever the waste management plant comes up, the city had earned a distinction of being a responsible one.

Meanwhile, the JITF officials lamented that even after nine months of operation, the MCB had not paid them even a single penny incurred on garbage collection and garbage disposal exercises.

"We are spending close to Rs 1 crore every month that includes the salaries of the staff, maintenance of vehicles and instruments, fuel charges and other operational charges," the JITF officials said.

PPCB XEN suggests

XEN NS Manshahia suggests simple ways of segregating the waste and making your home a zero garbage producer:

The degradable waste such as leftover food, rotten vegetables and food waste should be put in an earthen pot and covered properly. Within 24 hours, the degradable waste will start composting. A standard sized pot can be used to collect the waste for more than a month, of a household of three or four persons. The compost can be used as manure.

Give the recyclable waste such as plastic and papers to the junk dealer instead of throwing it in the dustbins carrying wet waste. When the wet waste laced with plastic or paper is sent for recycling, it has to be washed, which results in water pollution.

Segregating the waste at household level is the best a common man can do to save environment.

Bathinda, September 1
The body of a newborn male child was found near Purana Thana here today.
Volunteers of the Sahara Jan Sewa, a local NGO, who reached the place, brought the matter to the notice of the police. The volunteers said the child seemed to be born few hours ago and somebody abandoned the body. The police said a case in this connection would be registered.

Fazilka
resident booked

A resident of Fazilka has been booked by the police for stealing electric material from a house in Model Town Phase-III.

In a complaint to the police, Sanjeev Kumar stated some household material was found missing from his neighbours’ house as well.

A case has been registered under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC against one Rajesh Kumar of Fazikla at the Cantonment police station. The accused was brought to the police station for further questioning.

One arrested with 10 kg poppy husk

The police has arrested a person for possessing 10 kg of poppy husk.

The accused identified as Jiwat Ram was held from near Santpura road. The police said the accused was found carrying the contraband during police patrolling.

A case has been registered against the accused at the Kotwali police station under Sections 15, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act.

Motorbike stolen

The police has registered a case against unidentified persons for stealing a motorbike of a resident of Sardargarh village, from outside the Sports Stadium here on August 15.

In a complaint to the police, Gurinder Singh said he had come to watch the Independence Day function and had parked his bike in the parking area. He could not find his bike on return

A case under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against the accused at the Civil Lines police station.

Woman arrested with poppy husk

The police has arrested a woman for possessing 3.5 kg of poppy husk, from near Burj Mehma village.

The woman was arrested by the officials from the Sadar police station during police patrolling.

The accused has been identified as Paramjit Kaur, a resident of Killi Nihal Singh Wala village.

The police said the accused was carrying the narcotics for the purpose of selling it to drug addicts.

A case under Sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused at the Sadar police station.

Couple booked under NDPS Act

The police has booked a couple for possessing huge quantity of habit-forming drugs. While the police managed to arrest the woman, her husband succeeded in fleeing.

The accused, identified as Mahinder Singh and Charanjit Kaur of Patti Seol Mehraj village, were arrested from near Gurusar Mehraj.

A case under Sections 21, 22, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused at the City Rampura police station.

Bathinda, September 1
The state level Teachers' Day celebrations would be held at Bathinda. Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka will be holding the function in his home constituency. Last year, his predecessor Sewa Singh Sekhwan had held the state-level celebrations in his constituency, at Kahnuwan in Gurdaspur district.

The Jeet Palace on the Bathinda-Barnala road would be the venue for the function.

On the occasion, teachers from all over the state will be honoured for their contribution in providing education to society at large.

The onus of making the arrangements for the celebrations has been entrusted to the District Education Office, Bathinda. The DEO (secondary) today held a meeting of various committees constituted to handle different works for the event.

The meeting was held at Dasmesh Public Senior Secondary School.

Seven kinds of committees have been formulated and each of them includes teachers and other staff members of the education department.

Bathinda, September 1
A colourful function was organised at the junior wing of the Delhi Public School today. The principal of the Bachpan playschool, Palak Juare, was the special guest on the occasion.

The programme began with a welcome speech by a student of class I and a welcome ceremony by the Nursery students. Students of Prep presented a programme “Vande Mataram”.

Besides, dance programmes based on Punjabi folk tradition and the lives of Radha and Krishna mesmerised the audience.

The programme by tiny-tots saw enthusiastic appreciation by the parents attending the function. In the end, the principal, Delhi Public School, thanked the guests and lauded the efforts of the participants.
— TNS